Best of the best: Ranking the top 10 Super Bowl MVPs

Kurt Warner, Super Bowl XXXIV (2000)

From grocery store clerk to Super Bowl MVP in almost no time, Warner’s story was nearly too unbelievable. His 414 passing yards remains a single-game Super Bowl record. And his 73-yard TD pass to Isaac Bruce with less than two minutes to play sealed a tight 23-16 win over the Tennessee Titans that ended a single yard away from going to overtime.

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9

Jim Plunkett, Super Bowl XV (1981)

Plunkett’s 1980 season is the stuff that Disney movies are made of. Not only did he earn Comeback Player of the Year honors, but the former Heisman Trophy-winning QB also took home MVP of the Super Bowl with an inspired three-touchdown performance against Dick Vermeil’s Philadelphia Eagles squad in a 27-10 victory. The only thing more surprising than Plunkett winning this Super Bowl was when he did it again three years later in Super Bowl XVIII (though running back Marcus Allen would win MVP then).

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8

Marcus Allen, Super Bowl XVIII (1984)​

Still the record-holder for most yards per carry in Super Bowl history at 9.6 (191 rushing yards on 20 attempts, Allen ripped off two third-quarter TD runs (including one of 74 yards) to help lead the Los Angeles Raiders to a 38-9 thumping of Washington. To this day, it remains the only Super Bowl win by a Los Angeles franchise. (At least for now.)

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7

Troy Aikman, Super Bowl XXVII (1993)

This game was heralded as the culmination of the Dallas Cowboys’ great rebuild, the resurrection of a franchise that had appeared in five of the first 13 Super Bowls. Starting with this game -- a 52-17 demolition of the Buffalo Bills -- Dallas would win three of the next four Big Games, and Aikman’s 273 passing yards and four TD passes cemented his place as one of the game’s elite signal-callers.

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6

Jerry Rice, Super Bowl XXIII (1989)

Maybe the second- or third-greatest Super Bowl ever played? Certainly no lower than that, and almost certainly the best game ever played by a wide receiver. Eleven catches, 215 receiving yards and the 14-yard TD catch that ignited a furious fourth-quarter comeback to give the San Francisco 49ers a 20-16 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.

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5

Joe Montana, Super Bowl XXIV (1990)

First off, the 22-for-29 and five TDs was legendary, allowing San Francisco to roll to the biggest Super Bowl win in history (55-10 over Denver). But this being Montana’s fourth and final Super Bowl win, consider his Big Game career in the aggregate: 68 percent completion rate, 11 TD passes, 1,142 passing yards and no picks in 122 attempts. It’s unlikely we’ll ever either appreciate how dominant that is or see another like him on that stage.

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4

Eli Manning, Super Bowl XLII (2008)

Let’s be clear: Manning was far from perfect in this one. He fumbled twice (though lost neither). He threw a pick. He was sacked three times. But Manning made every play he needed to when the circumstances demanded action. The near-sack and throw to David Tyree has only been eclipsed in our minds by the catch itself. His TD pass to Plaxico Burress sealed both a 17-14 win over the 18-0 New England Patriots and Manning’s MVP performance as maybe the greatest in recent history.

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3

Larry Csonka, Super Bowl VIII (1974)

With Miami looking to defend its title from The Undefeated Season a year earlier, Csonka, a bruising but nimble Hall of Fame fullback, turned in a then-record 145 rushing yards and two scores to lead Miami over Minnesota, 24-7. It’s no surprise Csonka carried 33 times but didn’t turn the ball over -- he fumbled only 21 times over his 11-year career.

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2

Phil Simms, Super Bowl XXI (1987)

Never before (or since) has a quarterback been as accurate and lethal as Simms was in front of more than 100,000 at the Rose Bowl. Down 10-9 at halftime to John Elway’s Denver Broncos, Simms methodically picked apart the defense and ended the night with a 39-20 win and the best Super Bowl single-game completion rate (22-for-25, 88 percent) ever posted. Throw in three TD passes, and the MVP choice this night was a cinch.

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1

Steve Young, Super Bowl XXIX (1995)

Jerry Rice had 10 catches for 149 yards and three TDs and he was likely never even under consideration for the MVP. Steve Young got the Montana-sized monkey off his back with six TDs (four by halftime), 325 yards passing, and no picks. He also ran five times for 49 yards. The worst Super Bowl ever? Maybe, but only because Young made sure the San Diego Chargers never stood a chance of winning this 49-26 drubbing.